The Founder Files

Today I’m joined by Matt Putman, CEO and co-founder of iKhokha, one of South Africa’s most inspiring FinTech success stories. We kick things off by exploring how iKhokha pivoted from hardware to software, which led to a defining shift in product-market fit and reshaped the company’s future. From there, we cover the complexities of scaling, from attracting talent to raising investment—especially as...

In this episode, we sit down with Paul Raphaely, the co-founder and CEO of Nomu, South Africa’s celebrated food brand known for its premium spices, skinny hot chocolate, and more. From launching the brand with just 12,000 Rand to exporting to over 30 countries, Paul shares the unfiltered story of how Nomu grew from a small kitchen project into a household name. Discover how Paul and his wife, Trac...

In this episode, we sit down with Emilian Popa, co-founder of Ilara Health, to explore how he's tackling one of Africa’s biggest challenges—access to quality healthcare. Emilian shares his journey of providing essential diagnostic tools, pharmaceuticals, and practice management software to small informal and formal clinics in Africa. We discuss the complexities of growing a healthcare business in...

Logistics is often the least exciting aspect of e-commerce. That’s where Parcel Ninja comes in, taking care of all the logistical hassles for e-commerce businesses. By providing top-notch logistics services, Parcel Ninja empowers small to medium-sized e-commerce players to have the same logistics capability as the largest players in South Africa. In today’s episode, we dive deep into the success s...

In this episode, we get to chat with Simon Hartley, the founder of WumDrop, which is Africa's largest last-mile on-demand delivery service. Simon shares his incredible journey from launching a B2C retail business to pivoting into the B2B delivery space, unlocking product-market fit and scaling to success. We dive into the challenges of growing a logistics business, raising funds, investing in tech...

Merchant Capital is South Africa's leading non-bank alternative lender for SMEs. In this episode, we discover how they grew from zero to 10 billion rand in loans for their clients over the past 12 years. You'll learn how they initially financed this venture, scaled the business through partnerships, invested in hiring the country's top CTO, and successfully navigated a culture shift. We also get i...

In this episode of The Founder Files, we dive deep into the scaling journey with Cheri Afonso, the CEO and co-founder of HouseHoppers—a relocation concierge business that's revolutionising the moving industry. Cheri shares her powerful story of building a business that thrives on operational excellence. From restructuring her role as CEO to managing branches across multiple geographies, Cheri...

Imagine ordering groceries and getting them delivered in 15 minutes. Well, Zulzi does just that! In this episode, we dive deep with Donald Valoyi, the founder and CEO who's turning the retail world on its head. You'll discover: - The secret sauce behind Zulzi's lightning-fast 15-minute deliveries - How Valoyi navigated hypergrowth and cash flow challenges - The game-changing strategies...

In this episode of The Founder Files, we chat with Greg Blend and Grant Friedman from Africrest. From starting with nothing but ambition and a few naive assumptions, they scaled their property business to managing over 3.3 billion rand in assets! We delve into how they managed to scale their business without initial capital. We also explore their unique approach to sourcing feedback from tenants a...

In this unique episode, we dive into the highs and lows of a seasoned entrepreneur, Daniel Guasco. Best known as the co-founder and co-CEO of Groupon South Africa, Hyperli, and Team Africa Ventures, Daniel has also made his mark as the founder of Click2Sure and an investor in many businesses. In this episode we get into his first major high and low, going from having one of South Africa’s most suc...

Only 7% of South Africans invest, but Franc is on a mission to change that. In this episode, we dive deep with Thomas Brennan, the co-founder and CEO of Franc, an investment marketplace that's making it easier than ever for South Africans to grow their wealth. Join us as we explore how Franc cracked the code to product-market fit in a market where investing is rare. Thomas shares insider insig...

Sendmarc solves a problem that every single business faces; email security. In this episode I sit down with the co-founder and CEO, Sam Hutchinson. Sam has been an entrepreneur since the age of 16. He successfully exited an email marketing company, and his experience there allowed him to start Sendmarc. Sam shares how he built out the sales function of the business, his honest accounts of scaling...

We understand that a 2-hour podcast can be a lot of content to consume. So today, we have a special episode highlighting our favourite lessons from Africa's top founders about scaling and growth. If you found any of these clips valuable, be sure to watch the full episodes! ---- This episode is brought to you by Metavolve. Metavolve turns highly capable African founders into confident business...

In this episode of The Founder Files, we sit down with Bongani Sithole, the Co-founder and CEO of Founders Factory Africa (FFA). As one of the largest early-stage investors on the African continent, FFA has made significant strides, investing in over 70 startups in under six years. Bongani shares the innovative approach that sets FFA apart from traditional venture capital firms. Instead of relying...

This is an exciting episode, because I had the opportunity of hosting one of South Africa’s most esteemed venture capitalist, Clive Butkow. Clive is the ex-founder and CEO of Kalon Venture Partners, which he left to Start Conducive Capital. He is an expert in building, scaling and investing in businesses, and he has a Silicon Valley exit, a VC firm and more than 10 highly successful startups under...

Payment24 is a fintech SAAS business that services the oil & gas industry. Their growth has been impressive and they currently operate in 20 countries, across 4 continents. I got the pleasure of talking with the co-founders Nolan Daniel and Shadab Rahil. Shadab and Nolan started out with a “if they buy it, we’ll build it” mindset but after some time they integrated all the separate products th...

Get ready to learn from an extremely accomplished entrepreneur who is in the business of building successful businesses. Allon Raiz is the founder and CEO of Raizcorp, an incubator that is focused of growing entrepreneurs in all life cycle stages, they offer programs from pre-entrepreneurial education right through to scaling. In this episode we get into why Raizcorp has been labelled the only gen...

When social impact meets entrepreneurship, you get something beautiful. Motion Ads has done just that. This week Jon Berkowitz and Elan Band join me to share insights about their business, that provides delivery drivers with extra income by turning them into moving billboards. We talk about the struggles in starting a business around a concept that didn’t exist before and the challenges in buildin...

Are you working hard enough? A question this episode is guaranteed to make you ask yourself! It's an honour to welcome Thomas Pays. Thomas is the co-founder of Ozow, the South African market leader for account to account transactions. Thomas takes us through the founding story of Ozow and the dark times he endured in the first 2 years. Although he thinks the company is still in infancy, he hig...

This week, we are thrilled to welcome, Luke Jedeikin and Claude Hanan, the founders of Superbalist and Bash, two extremely well known South African e-commerce businesses. They take us through the journey of Superbalist, discussing its inception, growth to an impressive 1 billion rand per year, and eventual exit. We also delve into the personal challenges they faced when they left a high-performing...

This week we welcome Melvyn Lubega, Co-Founder of go1, an L&D business valued at over 2 billion dollars! We begin by exploring Melvyn's journey, delving into the source of his strong drive and ambition. We then talk about his experience at Y Combinator, one of Silicon Valley's top accelerators. Throughout this episode, Melvyn offers valuable insights on B2B sales, the importance of gro...

Ever been frustrated with the complexities of legal tasks in your startup? This episode is for you. This week we welcome Patrick Rogers, co-founder and CEO of Clara, who is transforming legal services for startups. Patrick’s journey from corporate lawyer to startup founder highlights the need for accessible legal solutions tailored for venture-backed businesses. While sharing how Clara went from a...

This week, we welcome Mike Scott, a seasoned entrepreneur and founder of NONA digital (acquired by Yoco) to The Founder Files. He shares his practical lessons from his impressive career and personal growth journey. Tune in as we discuss: - The psychology of entrepreneurship - How Mike's past has shaped his identity - Survival mindset of a first-time founder - Mistakes Mike made in his first bu...

A lot has changed since we last had Christiaan van den Berg from JOBJACK on the podcast! In this episode, Christiaan returns to share their impressive journey from pre-product market fit to scaling a successful SaaS business. In just a year, JOBJACK, now a leading recruitment platform in South Africa, has attracted over 3 million users, raised significant funding, and doubled their team. To unders...

In this episode, we welcome Paul Cook, the co-founder and managing director of Silvertree Brands. Join Cameron as he dives into Paul's incredible journey of building not just one, but a portfolio of purpose-driven, direct-to-consumer, and niche e-commerce businesses. Listen as they discuss: The innovative strategies behind Silvertree Brands' growth and portfolio selection Lessons learned f...